I have a relative whose family has been selling snail powder in Liuzhou for generations. I stayed at their house when I was on vacation a few years ago. What impressed me most was that they said that snail powder was not the original pure snail powder. There were many ingredients in the original snail powder, and the most important thing was that there was snail meat in it. Now there is almost no snail meat.

Due to historical reasons, the exact origin time and place of snail powder have been difficult to verify, so there is no convincing authoritative version at present. The following information is collected and sorted out, which is deeply loved by the people.

Introduction of snail powder:

1. Snail powder: Liuzhou snail powder, one of the "three famous powders" in Guangxi, the first original snack in Liuzhou, has a unique flavor of "sour, spicy, fresh, cool and spicy". It is made from Liuzhou's unique soft and refreshing rice flour (dry-cut powder) as raw materials, plus sour bamboo shoots, fungus, peanuts, fried yuba, dried radish, day lily and fresh vegetables. Snail powder is delicious because of its unique soup. This soup is a condiment made of snail meat, rhizoma Dioscoreae Septemlobae, star anise, cinnamon, clove and pepper 13, and monosodium glutamate and sucrose. As for 13 spices, there is a strict proportion.

B, the influence of snail powder in Liuzhou:

It can be said frankly that snail powder is the first original snack in Liuzhou, and its prominent position will be difficult to shake in the short term. People in Liuzhou love to eat snail powder, and wanderers in Liuzhou eat a bowl of pure snail powder after returning home to comfort their homesickness for many years!

Analysis on the basic conditions of snail powder production

1, necessary condition:

In Liuzhou, people who eat rice noodles and suck snails can be seen from the food stalls in the streets to the lobby of star-rated hotels. The remains of snail shells in caves in An Baili have been around for more than 10,000 years, which proves that Liuzhou people have a long history of eating snails. Rice noodles have long been the most important staple food of Liuzhou people except rice. All these make Liuzhou people have an obsession with "rice noodles" and "snails", just like Hunan people's "Chili" complex. Such a unique complex has laid a grand foreshadowing for the combination of "rice noodles" and "snails".

2. Historical conditions:

Before the Cultural Revolution, due to the low living standard, Liuzhou's catering night market was not developed. After the Cultural Revolution, especially after the reform and opening up, Liuzhou's economy developed rapidly in the 1980s, and people's living standards improved rapidly. The catering night market is also growing day by day, especially in several major cinemas in the city and the catering night market near the traditional business district. From the late 1970s to the early 1980s, snails (boiled snails) were popular in the initially prosperous night market, and rice noodles originally used as breakfast also entered the increasingly prosperous night market. The two performed on the same stage in Liuzhou's restaurant night market, and the possibility of passionate collision and sparks greatly increased.

3. Dietary conditions:

Liuzhou people's diet tastes sour and spicy, and snail powder has been continuously improved and perfected along the route of finding this taste from the beginning to cater to the local tastes, which is one of the important reasons why snail powder has soared into Liuzhou's signature snack in just 30 years.

The development of snail powder;

1, from: (the transition period from 1970s to 1980s)

During the transition from 1970s to 1980s, the focus of national and social development shifted to the economy, and the people of Liuzhou worked hard, the economy developed rapidly, and their living standards improved rapidly. The catering night market has developed from scratch and prospered. Because of the local food culture, snails were popular at that time (boiled snails, stewed snails with sour bamboo shoots and red peppers and other condiments), and stalls selling boiled snails were all over Liuzhou city. Later, rice noodles also entered the catering night market, and two popular snacks in Liuzhou presented their skills on the same stage. Soon, there will be stalls selling rice noodles and snails. I don't know if this is inevitable. Many diners like to add snail soup to rice noodles. After the passionate collision between them, it came into being. After that, the catering industry continued to improve and perfect, and an upgraded version of snail powder appeared, that is, snail powder with vegetables and other side dishes.

2. Unity of development: (early 1980s-mid 1980s)

In the early 1980s, after the new thing "snail powder" became popular, many manufacturers set foot in this field. However, because it was in the primary stage of innovation at that time, there was no uniform standard recognized by the industry for each production method, especially in the soup, the essence of snail powder. Let's talk about boiled snails, stewed snail bone soup with sour bamboo shoots, red peppers and other condiments. Because it caters to the hot and sour tastes of Liuzhou people and combines the inherent characteristics of its main rice noodles and snails, the exploration direction of the industry is mainly divided into two directions:

A, some manufacturers have done enough articles on the word "fresh and sweet soup" on the basis of exploring and perfecting the work of snail powder, especially in the process of making its soup. Thus gradually gained strong recognition from local diners.

B, another part of the industry stick to the word "snail" of snail powder, thinking that snail powder must be the absolute protagonist, but everyone knows that it is difficult to achieve the effect of "sour, spicy, fresh, cool and hot" just by using snail soup.

C, some are popular, some are unpopular. Although the production technology and formula of food are trade secrets, at that time, everyone's awareness of protecting trade secrets was not very strong. Learning from each other or communicating with each other, the production technology and taste orientation of snail powder gradually unified in a greater breadth and depth in the mid-1980 s.

Therefore, through the investigation of the market and diners and the continuous efforts of related industries, the production technology and taste positioning of snail powder have been finalized for the first time. The prospect of snail powder shows great potential.

3. The first boom (from the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s)

The mid-1980s to the mid-1990s can be said to be the first prosperous period of snail powder. With the characteristics of "sour, spicy, fresh, cool and spicy" after its first return, it won the hearts of local diners in Liuzhou and developed like mushrooms after rain. 10 In its heyday, snail powder was established as the first original snack in Liuzhou. Liuzhou wanderers who have been wandering for many years usually eat a bowl of authentic snail powder to comfort their homesickness for many years after returning home.

4. The downturn (from the mid-1990s to 200 1)

A, many first-generation operators of snail powder earned enough money and chose to withdraw from the market after becoming famous. So many recognized secret recipes for making snail powder, most of which have disappeared in the torrent of history! (Note: If you sell rice noodles in Liuzhou, as long as the rice noodles are delicious, the base of Liuzhou people who eat rice noodles is very large and the prospects are promising. However, at the same time, selling rice noodles requires getting up early and getting greedy. Although the money is good, it is very hard. Most people who feel that they have earned enough will choose to quit. * An authentic and popular producer of snail powder in Jianping Mountain Night Market, who has earned enough money for 10 years, feels that he needs to rest, and quitting the Jianghu is a typical example)

B. At the same time, in Liuzhou, since the 1990s, urban-rural communication in the Greater Liuzhou area has become increasingly active, and working in cities has become the choice of young farmers. Many farmers' friends also started to do small business in Liuzhou. Many of these people also work in restaurants, especially rice noodle shops or simply raise funds to open rice noodle shops to sell rice noodles.

Since the mid-1990s, many first-generation operators of snail powder have bravely retreated, leaving a big market vacancy. A friend of migrant workers used to work in a shop opened by the first generation of snail powder operators. After playing for a long time, the boss quit. They also thought that they had worked in these popular snail powder shops for a long time, so why not raise some money to open their own shops and become their own bosses? However, it is a pity that although I have been a migrant worker for a long time, I should have learned the production method of snail powder or stolen some formulas, but the retired first-generation operators who have mastered the so-called Volkswagen snail powder formula technology after commercial baptism or for other purposes may not necessarily pass on its core content to them. This part of migrant workers who only master fur or skills is not enough to master the essence of production, but may reduce the quality of snail powder.

In addition, those farmers who started as their own bosses may have joined the snail powder industry because of "self-study", and their quality may not be pleasing.

At the end of c 1997, the Asian financial crisis swept across Asia. It was this year that the reform of state-owned enterprises intensified, the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission was established, and Liuzhou became a pilot city for "optimizing capital structure". Since 1998, Liuzhou, an old industrial base, has entered the big stream of state-owned enterprise reform for three years, followed by more than 65,438 laid-off workers, and nearly 400,000 permanent residents in the urban area have been implicated in great pain. Liuzhou's development in all aspects seems to have suddenly come to a standstill. The catering industry is inevitably hit hard, and the rice noodle industry is also deeply affected. Innovation and development seem to be stagnant. At the same time, a large number of laid-off workers choose to join the snail powder sales industry in the process of re-employment to support their families. The same result may be that most of these novice snail powder sellers did not get the essence of pre-production, which indirectly or directly became one of the important reasons for the sharp decline in the overall level of snail powder production during this period.

(Note: We didn't mean to discriminate against peasant brothers and laid-off workers' friends when we said this. The fact is one or two. )

D. It was during this period that a convenient food enterprise in Liuzhou produced instant snail powder, and its sauce package was also developed quite creatively. Although it still fails to show the original flavor, there is a big difference, but it is actually an innovative move. Inspired and influenced by it, the undercurrent of cutting corners seems to have found a clear answer, that is, whether the preparation of powder soup can be replaced by ingredient soup bags, which will be the essence of snail powder overnight, thus maliciously reducing the production cost. The undercurrent gradually turned into a flood, which was listed as the best choice by some opportunistic snail powder sellers. Powder soup no longer needs careful cooking, but can be opportunistic, and there is a fatal blow to snail powder behind self-defeating.

E, in addition to the decline in the level of noodle soup, the decline in the quality of sour bamboo shoots and yuba as the main side dishes is also shameful. In order to reduce the cost, the side dishes are refurbished, but they are varied. Dried radish is replaced by sauerkraut, head dish and mustard tuber, which is neither fish nor fowl.

F, Jerry-building in the raw material link, typical examples are: snails are not fastidious in materials, do not pay attention to hygiene, or simply do not put any snails in the soup, and the snail flavor in the soup noodles completely disappears. The selection of Chili oil is also mixed, and some peppers only sell red, which has no actual spicy taste.

G, the traditional snail powder should be dried and cut into powder, and soaked in water before cooking, so that the rice noodles are smooth and elastic. In a certain period of time, in order to save time and cost, many manufacturers changed dry-cut powder into ordinary pressed powder (that is, round rice flour). At the same time, the problem of dry cutting powder appears constantly in the market. Greatly destroyed the taste of rice noodles for snail powder.

5. Recovery and development period (200 1 year-present)

A, stepping into the 2 1 century, the critical period of state-owned enterprise reform has basically ended, and the pain has gradually eased. Liuzhou is regaining its former vitality. The benefits of the catering industry have already appeared. After years of depression, snail powder began to recover. At this time, Guilin rice noodles, which were all the rage, have already crossed the breakfast market in a big way, entered Chinese dinner and even night market, and their market share has been expanding. Special food and snacks from other places keep pouring in, especially other kinds of special rice noodles from other places also attack Liuzhou market on a large scale. Liuzhou diners and fans (rice noodle lovers) are naturally fond of eating, willing to seek novelty and change, and tasting early, which is constantly changing the once rare passion. People's tastes and choices are constantly expanding, and snail powder is no longer the only favorite option for people to enjoy midnight snack.

B In 2003, the "Sanpinwang" rice noodle chain seized the beach in Liuzhou rice noodle market. Many local rice noodle practitioners who have been holding the idea of "small-scale operation, getting rich is guaranteed, and even muddling along, not seeking progress" began to disdain this, but after seeing their business getting bigger and bigger, they began to have a sense of crisis.

In 2004, government departments launched a large-scale "three rectifications" (referring to rectifying chaos). Before Guilin rice noodles, special rice noodles expanded into; After that, the strong invasion of chain concept accelerated the fierce competition in Liuzhou rice noodle market, and the market share of traditional Liuzhou rice noodle and snail powder decreased obviously.

The "catfish effect" is becoming more and more obvious, and local rice noodle owners with a sense of crisis and ideas begin to think about how to make a chain. How to implement modern enterprise management in rice flour industry? How to keep the characteristics and delicacy of your own rice noodles? How to upgrade the level of your own store? It has become one question after another that these big bosses think about.

In recent two years (2004-2005), the image of many rice noodle shops in Liuzhou has been greatly improved through continuous thinking and practical actions. Under the impact of market mechanism and the survival of the fittest of diners, the irregular phenomenon of snail powder in the downturn has been greatly improved and restored.

C, snail powder industry's own awareness is also constantly improving, improvement and innovation, chain operation, in the ascendant! While the taste and practice of snail powder return to tradition, improvement and innovation continue. With the improvement of living standards and the requirements of diners (some people think that at the same price, other rice flour can eat meat, but snail powder can't, which is not cost-effective), the requirements of the market and diners have led to the classification trend of traditional snail powder and improved snail powder (such as three fresh snail powder (with meat)).

6. Concluding remarks

Whether adhering to tradition or improving innovation, the recovery of snail powder continues. The status of snail powder as the first original snack in Liuzhou has never been seriously shaken. May the prospect of snail powder get better and better. Still the same sentence: "If you don't eat snail powder, you are from Liuzhou."

Due to historical reasons, it has been difficult to verify the exact origin time and place of snail powder, but it is deeply loved by the people. Under the premise of respecting history, it makes up for the shortage of snail powder allusions.

Legend of birthplace: Wang Ji has a grandmother.

In the mid-1980s, there was a grocery store (now "Dake Hotel" building) on Jiefang South Road. The clerk has to study every morning, but it's past nine o'clock after finishing studying. The clerk who didn't have time to have breakfast had to grab a handful of dry cut powder and cook it at the granny snail stall next door (now goldfish lane, Jiefang South Road). The clerk thought it was delicious, and later bought vegetables to cook together. Ji Wang's grandmother, who sells snail powder, also thinks this powder tastes good, so she simply sells this snail powder. After that, it was improved several times by the industry and other ingredients were added. Then, the classic snack snail powder in Liuzhou slowly formed, and the streets were full of fragrance, and the people were crazy about it.

Legend of birthplace 2: there is a night market in the valley

At the end of 1970s, the Cultural Revolution ended, and private businesses began to recover. Gubu Street Vegetable Market (near Milk Lane) has gradually become the largest distribution center of endophytic snails in Liuzhou. In addition, the nearby workers' cinema is in full swing, which has strongly attracted a large number of audiences from the side, and the Gubu Street night market has also been formed. Liuzhou people love to eat snails and rice noodles, which is a tradition. Some shrewd night market owners began to operate boiled snails and rice noodles at the same time. At that time, people didn't have so many delicious dishes to choose from today, so they didn't have much oil and water in their stomachs. So, after the movie was over, those hungry diners could not help but ask for a few spoonfuls of snail soup in their rice noodles to enjoy together, and gradually formed the prototype of snail powder. After that, its composition and production technology were continuously improved and perfected, and gradually formed, which was out of control. From the mid-1980s to the first boom, the status of snail powder as Liuzhou's original signature snack was also established and consolidated.

Legend of Birthplace: No coincidence is a book.

Late at night in the early 1980s, several foreigners rushed to Liuzhou hungry and found a rice noodle stall that was about to close. However, the necessary bone soup for rice noodles is gone, leaving only the screw soup left by a pot of boiled snails. In desperation, the stall owner put rice noodles in the snail soup and added vegetables and peanuts as side dishes. After eating, these foreigners shouted delicious food. Keeping this in mind, the stall owner gradually improved its ingredients and production, and gradually formed the embryonic form of snail powder.

Snail powder first appeared in the late 1970s, but not later than the early 1980s. Due to the serious lack of relevant information, it is difficult to verify the exact source. However, Liuzhou people who have a strong "snail complex" and "rice noodle complex" inadvertently created Liuzhou's famous original ecological snack-snail powder. The ingenious arrangement of history may have an inevitable side.